How Drugs Affect the Spirit (Shen)

In Chinese medicine, we're always concerned with how our thoughts, our emotions, our food, our lifestyle, things we put into our body like drugs or pharmaceuticals, and even the cosmos and the weather affect what's called the qi dynamic, which is this complex interaction of all these factors within the human body in a specific state of time. But one of those things we don't hear much about, which is how drugs affect the spirit. And I mean both illicit drugs and to some degree, even pharmaceutical drugs. But I wanted to share one specific thing that I thought was very interesting that I've seen clinically quite a lot, because it may provide some insight in your own healing journey. Hey guys, Dr. Alex Hine, author of the health book, Master of the Day on Amazon, doctor of Chinese medicine. Now, before we jump in, there are two related videos and links, very important right below this video. The first is for a free download for daily rituals that could potentially help you add years to your life with Chinese medicine. And the second is if you want to become a patron of mine locally or online via telemedicine, the link below is to my private practice and my contact info. Now, anything that we think of as something that affects a person's consciousness is something that we say can potentially damage the heart yang, right? And what that means is being put on general anesthetic, getting choked unconscious. If you're a judo or Brazilian jujitsu practitioner, or a boxer who gets hit in the head all the time, substances, smoking weed every day, antidepressants, benzos, Xanax, these substances taken to excess or too much really damage, we consider the heart yang, which one could say is the consciousness. So one thing that is very useful to know is that this idea of the heart yang and what it is associated with. So for example, when we talk about heart yang, we're talking about functions and factors related to consciousness, brain functioning, sleep, anxiety, depression, mental state, and even on a more basic level, your heart racing, spontaneous sweating, palpitations, things like that are factors and symptoms associated with a problem with your heart yang, so your heart functioning from our perspective. But one thing that's very interesting to observe is how certain substances may chronically or potentially permanently damage that heart yang and that functioning. So let's talk about what those are. Now what's interesting is that there's an ancient reference to cannabis, the marijuana plant, because it was used as, I think, a general anesthetic, as one herb in a formula for an anesthetic by a famous physician of ours. But it was listed actually in an ancient herbal text as being an upper-level medicinal, one of the herbs that actually can prolong the life and elevate the spirit. But what's funny is that the original entry also says, if consumed too much, it will make one see ghosts. Now I want to talk about this for just a second, because again, there are also people in the natural medicine space who consume a lot of this plant and don't think there's a problem with it. And I want to just address this specific plant as well as some pharmaceuticals in the context of what we talked about before. So when we think of someone who consumes this plant too much, this substance, what do we think of stereotypically? We think of issues with motivation, with stamina, with getting things done, with energy, with focus, even with libido. Now one mentor of mine said that she attributes this to damage to the liver yang. Now the liver, one of the functions of the liver in Chinese medicine is that it's related to stamina. And stamina, in a lot of different ways, but stamina when it comes to work is one of them. So it's a kind of will. The other organ we associated with will is often the kidneys. But when you think about the stereotypical stoner with the lack of motivation, can't get anything done, fatigued all the time, that is one of the functions that can be damaged, one of the faculties damaged through excessive consumption. But when you look at other substances, like for example, look at current pharmaceutical substances used to treat psychoemotional disorders, anxiety, depression, and insomnia, right? Look at substances used to treat those. SSRIs, benzos like Xanax, and I mean, there's many different classes now. One of the problems that we see clinically is that when someone comes off antidepressants, they feel terrible, usually. So what is the natural thing to do? The natural thing is to go right back on them. Or when someone stops using sleeping pills to sleep every night. Or when someone stops using Xanax when they meet their edge. The problem is that very often, especially when people are taking benzos, which are not supposed to be used long term, the person often doesn't look or feel the same, sometimes for years. For years, they have problems with brain chemistry, problems with getting back to feeling well again. And this is one of those aspects of the heart yang, the consciousness, we can use it like that, both in a physiological sense, being damaged and being affected by the long term use of a substance. No different, it's not because it's synthetic or unnatural. Cannabis will do the same. To a person, I mean, look at the cultural jokes, the colloquialisms about a person who's done too many hallucinogens, right? We say their brain is fried. But the problem is, a person utilizing too many prescription drugs can often have the same effect, where they can't focus, if they don't take it, they don't feel well, they don't sleep well, the symptoms come back, and they feel terrible. Now, again, the reason for that in that case was that the underlying physiological yang deficiency, as we think of it, the underlying depletion that predisposed them to that symptomatic picture was not ever addressed, right? There's nothing wrong with antidepressants or any other drug. The problem is that when a person is in a state where resources have been altered to a point, from our perspective, that they are now experiencing anxiety or depression, when a pharmaceutical drug is used, like an SSRI or a benzo, it does not restore the physiological disruption that, in my experience, you can with Chinese formulas. And so, whether it's a month or three months or 10 years on an antidepressant, they get off, and of course they feel worse, because the yang deficiency, the depletion, has only gotten worse, because the lid was really only kept on it. And so, of course, when the lid comes off, we feel terrible. So, I think this is just something worth pointing out and something that was interesting to think how both natural substances that alter consciousness too much can make a person not be there as well anymore, but so can pharmaceuticals that alter the state of a person's shin or spirit or their heart yang that gets depleted over time. So, really, anything, alcohol is another great drug we didn't talk about that will also do that in the long run. These substances that alter consciousness can also damage consciousness from our perspective, clinically, that we see. And so, I think that's worth keeping in mind and something that's worth understanding and remembering. All right, guys, that's all I have for you today. Again, two very important links right below this video. If you want to become a patient of mine locally or online via telemedicine, check out the link below to my private practice and my contact info is there. In addition, there's a free download for you, four daily rituals that can help you add years to your life, potentially, with Chinese medicine. That's also right below. And then, before you go, I have true related videos for you right here.